RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s merchandise trade surplus widened to SR15.59 billion ($4.16 billion) in August, up from SR13.24 billion in July, as exports outpaced imports despite ongoing regional conflict, official data showed.  According to preliminary data from the General Authority for Statistics, merchandise exports rose 3.3 percent month on month to SR87.24 billion, while imports increased 0.6 percent to SR71.64 billion.  The figures come as the US-Israeli war with Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Saudi Arabia and other Gulf exporters to rely more on alternative routes, including Red Sea terminals.  The US Energy Information Administration estimated that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 4.9 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, down from 21.6 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2025 before the conflict began. Saudi Arabia has rerouted crude through its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to bypass the strait.  On a year-on-year basis, however, the surplus narrowed by 21 percent, as total exports fell 11.5 percent and imports declined 9.1 percent.  “The percentage of oil exports in total exports decreased from 70.8 percent in August 2025 to 70 percent in August 2026,” said GASTAT.  The UAE was the leading destination for Saudi Arabia’s merchandise exports in August, accounting for 11.4 percent of total exports, followed by South Korea at 11.2 percent and India at 8.4 percent. China ranked first as a source of merchandise imports, accounting for 21.9 percent of total imports, followed by the US at 8.4 percent and Egypt at 5.8 percent.  Hamza Dweik, head of trading for the Middle East and North Africa at Saxo Bank, said Saudi Arabia has continued to generate a meaningful merchandise surplus despite a more complex geopolitical and trade environment.  “Oil still accounted for around 70 percent of Saudi exports in August, so energy remains an important anchor for the external balance, but Saudi Arabia is trading across a broad range of major markets, including the UAE, South Korea, India, and China,” he said, adding: “That geographical breadth helps support trade flows at a time when regional conditions remain uncertain.”  Non-oil exports gain  According to GASTAT, national non-oil exports, excluding re-exports, rose to SR18.32 billion, an increase of 17.8 percent from July and 8.5 percent year on year.  Re-exports, by contrast, fell 13.1 percent month on month and 34 percent year on year to SR7.84 billion. Non-oil exports, including re-exports, declined 9.1 percent year on year in August.  The UAE was the leading destination for Saudi Arabia’s non-oil goods, with shipments valued at SR5.05 billion, followed by India at SR3.43 billion, Switzerland at SR1.02 billion and Kuwait at SR982 million.  “The continued expansion of non-oil exports alongside that trade base suggests that Vision 2030 is increasingly visible not only through domestic investment and activity, but also through what Saudi Arabia is selling to the rest of the world,” said Dweik.  He added: “The real test over the coming years will be whether that non-oil export base can continue expanding across products and markets, making the Kingdom’s external position progressively less sensitive to the oil cycle.”